More than Oxytocin
by SomniumQuiesco
Summary: Carlos and Cecil enjoy their new apartment. Set after Condos and before Visitor. PWP. Fluff.


Cecil Palmer was not tall or short. He was not thin or fat. He would have been described as statistically unremarkable in terms of most physical attributes.

Carlos hadn't noticed him at first. There had been so much else to notice in Night Vale, after all. There had been even more that he was told _not_ to notice. There were so many previously unobserved phenomena, so many laws of science and reason that seemed to be broken in every moment, that Carlos had spent so much time trying to understand and reason and quantify that he had almost lost his life to a civilization of tiny, impossible, people living beneath a bowling alley.

But Cecil had cried for him.

Carlos had always been a scientist. Not one with a degree of course, not always _officially_ a scientist, but even before he had known what the scientific method was he had been utilizing it. Carlos understood things, and in understanding things he had accepted that some things could not be understood. Love could not be understood.

Carlos knew that in many ways love, like all of human emotion, experience, and feeling, was no more than a cocktail of chemicals bouncing through synapses of grey matter fueled by blood and breath and biology. Simply a mixture of oxytocin that had evolved through the need of all organisms to replicate themselves. Carlos was a scientist.

No one not genetically responsible for his existence had ever loved him before. It was strange and fascinating and surreal, being loved by Cecil Palmer.

Cecil's pupils would dilate when he looked at Carlos and blood would gather in his cheeks when he spoke. Cecil's words, his voice, normally so smooth and succinct, would raise in pitch and lose focus. He would say 'neat' and cover his face with his hands and groan. He would do things that made Carlos want to reach out and touch him.

Sometimes, even now, even after everything, Carlos would forget that he was allowed to touch him. That he was allowed to run the tips of his fingers along his smooth skin until the flesh rose and shivered. Cecil's breath always came faster when Carlos touched him.

Even now. Even after everything.

Even now Cecil made that pleased sound in the back of his throat when Carlos caught his lips in a kiss, pressing him against the door as soon as it had closed behind them. Carlos had been waiting all day to kiss him. They had spent the morning gathering boxes and furniture from Cecil's and bringing them up the stairs to what was now theirs. Carlos had watched sweat bead and fall on the back of his boyfriend's neck, watched his body, his lower body, strain beneath clothes as Carlos had walked behind him up the stairs.

But Carlos was a scientist. Carlos knew how to be patient. Patience was essential to the collection of rewarding data.

And now Carlos intended to enjoy his reward as he pressed his Cecil into the door while the other man clutched at his shoulders through his labcoat. A strategic press of hips confirmed that Cecil had been waiting too. He made such a wonderful sound, when hard met hard and all at once Carlos was aware that clothing would be completely unnecessary for the remainder of the evening's activities.

Cecil whimpered as Carlos tugged the hem of his shirt from his trousers and began unbuttoning his way up, each button revealing more and more, making Cecil whisper more words between kisses, more syllables with meanings and half-sounds and half-breaths.

"Carlos oh," Cecil panted. "Please."

Carlos finished with Cecil's shirt and started on his pants and Cecil arched toward him, head hitting the door with a painful sounding crack. Carlos pressed his thumbs into Cecil's hipbones, cataloging each reaction as Cecil seemed to arch further, begging with his body as Carlos lowered himself to his knees so that he could breathe in the smell, see his exhale brush the fine hairs trailing down Cecil's stomach. Run the tip of his nose against damp skin.

Cecil let out a small cry when Carlos slid a hand from his boyfriend's hip to cup his sack through his pants. Adjusting the other man's erection just enough that the slick head escaped his boxers. There was a damp spot, a spot of dark on the fabric now covering the midsection of Cecil's shaft and Carlos leaned forward to suck the flavor there from the thin cotton, making Cecil cover his mouth with both his hands in an useless attempt to stop more sounds.

Carlos let his eyes fall shut for just a moment, enjoying the heat against his lips. Feeling Cecil's heartbeat, how hard he was, how hot. He squeezed Cecil again where his hand still cupped him and he could feel the trembling in Cecil's knees traveling up his torso. "Too much?" he asked. "Should we move."

"Uh huh," Cecil managed with a nod. He licked his lips, lips swollen and red and wanting. "Bed?"

Carlos let his breath hover over the dark exposed head of Cecil's cock, so tempted to let his tongue reach out to taste the bead of wetness already gathered at the slit, so tempted to suck Cecil here, against the door to their new apartment, until he came. Until his mouth and throat were full of him. But it was so rare that Carlos was able to devote the proper time to Cecil. The time that Cecil deserved after so much waiting. And Carlos had taken the whole day off from the lab to finish their move.

He had the rest of the night to use the data that he had gathered over months to make sure Cecil would never change his mind, never stop loving him.

Carlos stood, steadying Cecil before tugging his boyfriend toward their new bedroom.

Hampers of folded clothes and notes still covered the floor and the mattress was leaning against the wall, but there was just enough space in the middle of the floor for Carlos to flip the mattress down and lay it flat.

Cecil had lingered by the door, clutching the frame and watching Carlos with dark eyes as he moved about the room. It was hard not to be distracted by the rise and fall of his chest and stomach, visible only in a single stripe down his torso thanks to Carlos's earlier unbuttoning. The only thing they had bothered to set up completely was the air conditioner, but even with that humming at full power in the window Carlos could see the shine of sweat on Cecil's skin.

Carlos swallowed, imagining the taste of it. How hot his skin would feel against his tongue. "Come here," his own voice seemed far away. "Lie down, Cecil."

Cecil raised a brow as he sauntered toward the mattress, never taking his eyes off of Carlos. "Right away, Mr. Scientist." He let his shirt fall from his shoulders and toed out of his shoes before taking a seat on the bed. "How do you want me?"

Carlos had to take a deep breath as his mind catalogued the dozens of ways he _wanted_. "Just lie back," he breathed. "Try to keep still."

"Oh _Carlos_," Cecil managed, squirming a bit. "You know what the Science Voice does to me. It's not fair."

"Fair is irrelevant to this situation," Carlos explained thoughtfully as he sat beside where Cecil was now lying on his back on the mattress. "The only relevance to this experiment," Carlos continued as he untied his own shoes and stripped off his socks, "is action and reaction. There is no fair action. There is only action or the lack of it."

"Carlos-" Cecil stopped when Carlos pressed his palm against the middle of his chest.

"You must try to be still, querido." Carlos could feel Cecil's heart beating rapidly beneath his hand. "I know you like to touch me too, and that mutual touching, the desire for mutual touching, is normal, but I want to try something different. I want all of my attention on you, and not you touching me." He trailed his hand down Cecil's chest, over his stomach, but paused, hovering, above where Cecil's boxers now covered his erection completely. Naughty, Cecil, covering himself up. A new dark spot had formed where the head pressed against the cotton, and Carlos touched him there, softly, feeling the slickness that had gathered between fabric and skin and shivering at the needy sound that Cecil made as he arched toward the lightness of his touch.

"Carlos… can we Science later. I mean, you know I love Science, especially your Science, but I've been thinking about this, ah, I mean you, I mean, doing this with you all day and I'm afraid I won't last very long." He took a breath. "I don't want to… I don't want to not last long and ruin your Science."

Carlos squeezed Cecil's cock lightly, making the other man groan and close his eyes. "You can wait. You can. Will you be still for me?"

Cecil swallowed thickly before he answered. "I'll try."

Carlos nodded, relaxing a bit now that Cecil had agreed to try. He took a moment to shrug out of his lab coat and unbutton the cuffs of his shirt, rolling up his sleeves. His own cock was throbbing painfully within his denims, but the pain kept him focused. Allowed him to stay focused on what he was doing to Cecil.

"Lift up," Carlos instructed, pulling down Cecil's boxers and pants when Cecil complied. Carlos slid his hands up Cecil's newly bared legs, enjoying the bonyness of his ankles and the strength in his calfs and thighs as he moved his touch up his boyfriend's skin. "You have to try very hard. Otherwise the results will be compromised."

Cecil made a choked sound when Carlos spread his legs, coming to kneel between them, each exhale ghosting over hard, dripping flesh. Cecil's cock twitched up in the direction of the heat of his breath, and Carlos watched as a drop of clear precome escaped from the slit, connecting in a clear line to Cecil's trembling stomach.

"Not all men leak so much," Carlos thought aloud. "Did you know that?"

Cecil might have answered but Carlos was so absorbed in the taste of him that he didn't process the words. Cecil felt so good in his mouth. Tasted so good. Sweat and wanting and Cecil. His Cecil. His Cecil who looked at him and loved him and knew him in some impossible way that was more pure than Carlos would ever know himself.

Carlos had to use more strength than he would have liked to pin Cecil's hips to the mattress. Sucking the head lightly, taking as much into his mouth as he could, which was not nearly all of him, before he let his lips slide down the shaft to the moist dampness below. His testicles were already tight, Cecil was far too close already.

The sound that Cecil made when Carlos pulled away was so desperate that Carlos was tempted to abandon his experiment and let him come. But Carlos was not the sort of Scientist to abandon an experiment, no matter how prettily his boyfriend begged.

"You're doing so well, querido," he soothed.

Cecil's chest was expanding and contracting rapidly, shallow breaths, skin shining with sweat, nipples hard against the air. Carlos allowed himself to reach out and touch the hard nubs, reveling in the sounds and squirms that Cecil produced even though he was trying so very hard to be still and silent. Carlos lowered his mouth to Cecil's chest to suck, to circle the bundle of nerves with his tongue while he pinched the other with his fingers and Cecil gasped and whimpered and started to beg once more, so desperate that Carlos found himself planning a future experiment. He had read that some men could come just from nipple stimulation, but that would have to be a trail for another day as Carlos had already gotten Cecil so close by sucking him that the results would be corrupted.

But then Cecil's hands were in his hair, his legs around Carlos's waist, bucking and trembling as his cock pulsed hot come between them, soaking through his shirt. "I'm sorry- _please-_ Please don't be upset. I didn't mean to ruin your Science. I'm the _worst_." Cecil buried his head into the crook of his shoulder, trembling, body still twitching in the aftermath. "Let me make it up to you so I'm not the worst."

Carlos peeled Cecil off of him enough that he could see his face before, placating him with a few gentle kisses, brushing hair from his damp forehead. "Stop. This is not the response I intended to cultivate." He took a deep breath. "Not the ejaculation. I very much wanted that response. I don't want you to be upset." Carlos closed his eyes. Cecil was looking up at him with so much feeling that he couldn't think. "I've been thinking about doing this for so long. I've catalogued everything. Kept notes. Mental notes, of all the things you like." Carlos could feel his cheeks heating and he tried not to be distracted by thoughts of how there could be enough blood in his body for his cock to be so hard and his cheeks to be so red. "I hardly ever get the time to make sure I can give you all the things you like."

Carlos opened his eyes to see that Cecil's had gone wide, glistening with emotions that made Carlos's stomach twist and his heart flutter. He cleared his throat and pulled away. "You're sweating. Dehydration is always a threat in this climate, and we've been physical." He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, then removed it. It was already stained and would need to be replaced so he used the cloth to finish cleaning the mess from his boyfriend's stomach and chest. "I'll go get us some water." He leaned down to kiss Cecil quickly before he stood. "I'll be back in a minute."

Before he had time to really register leaving the room Carlos found himself in front of the kitchen sink, hands shaking as he turned on the faucet to let it run a bit before splashing his face. He shouldn't feel like this. Afraid. And yet, and yet his nervous system was flooding him with fear.

He loved Cecil. He loved a man who spoke out against injustice on the radio and jumped into Condos to save his boyfriend and was constantly in the mortal peril that all Nightvalians seemed to simply accept as daily life. If something were to happen to Cecil he would be-

"Carlos?" The question was soft, a breath in his ear before hands and arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. Pressing a warm body along his back and lower. Cecil rested his chin on Carlos's shoulder. "Did you start thinking about Science again?" He pressed himself flush against Carlos's back, and a hand moved down to where his still-hard cock was trapped within his jeans. Squeezed just enough that Carlos couldn't stop the small noise that escaped his lips. "I thought the evening was supposed to be dedicated to the sexy sort of Science. Or really, you know, not so much Science and more… sex?"

Carlos couldn't fight the smile that curved his lips as he turned off the still running water and twisted in in his boyfriend's arms to face him.

"Not that I don't like Sexy Science," Cecil continued, voice rising in pitch and speed. "I just feel bad about before and mph-"

Cecil's lips were still so warm and soft from their earlier kissing and Carlos marveled in how all of Cecil's body seemed to relax into him as he moaned happily into his mouth. Cecil was still conveniently divested of his clothing, and Carlos took full advantage, reaching down to cup each firm cheek of his boyfriend's rear with each hand and squeeze. Cecil's skin was so smooth, so damp with sweat. It would be so easy to part his cheeks, to press a finger into what he knew would be hot and tight and- Carlos made a noise of disappointment as Cecil broke away from their kiss and lowered himself down onto the floor.

Carlos could feel each breath of air stretch his lungs as he watched Cecil undo his jeans. Hissing, closing his eyes and arching toward the freedom of parted cloth as Cecil brushed him through the thin fabric of his boxers. _Gods_, Carlos couldn't think when he knew what Cecil was about to do to him. Those lips, that throat, that _heat_.

Cecil kept him waiting though. Took his time, undressing him completely, running his hands up from his ankles, brushing bare knees, thighs, hips. Teasing him with his lips before the first slick flutter of tongue along the head made Carlos's knees go weak.

Carlos could hear his own voice, words in half Spanish that Cecil wouldn't know and wouldn't hear they were both so focused on feeling instead. Carlos's hands were in Cecil's hair now, pulling him forward, begging in every way he knew how until Cecil finally swallowed him. The sight of him. _Gods_ the sight of those lips stretched around him. The sounds. Cecil was making eager noises as though sucking Carlos's cock was as full of ecstasy for him as it was for Carlos, who got to feel Cecil's throat squeezing around him, and Cecil's voice humming as he did and the humming reverberating through his blood and body and-

Cecil pulled off with a satisfied pop, licking his lips, rubbing his cheek against his dark and shining flesh and looking up at him with dark eyes. "How do you want to finish, Mr Scientist." That voice. That _voice_. That voice raw with the abuse of having Carlos's cock down his throat. The air was hot, thick in the room with the smell of sweat and Cecil and sex.

Carlos could feel his grip tightening in Cecil's hair as his hips moved forward on their own. Rocking against Cecil's cheek. Feeling too much. Distracting himself with the just barely there scratch of the other man's stubble. Picturing how his cock would look sinking back between those lips, sinking into other, tighter, hotter, places. But somehow Carlos was aware of himself to know that by the time he had Cecil stretched and ready for him he would have come from the anticipation of it.

Words were too much, but Cecil seemed to understand his whimper and all at once that mouth was on him again. Suction. Heat. The flutter of tongue along the underside, tracing a vein. Cecil pulled up to suck lightly on the head and that tongue pressed lightly against his slit and Carlos could feel his body tense. "_Querido- Cecil-"_

The groan that Cecil let out when Carlos started to come was louder than his own. The desperation in his eyes as he looked up at him. The wet sound of every swallow. Two pairs of lungs gasping for breath. Carlos jerked as he emptied the last of himself while Cecil gently, so gently, licked him clean.

After a moment that adorable smile graced Cecil's lips again as his boyfriend gazed up at him. His eyes were so full of love.

Carlos brushed some hair from Cecil's forehead and helped him stand, kissing him once he did. Tasting himself. "It's so much more than oxytocin," he told Cecil, pulling away to see his boyfriend's forehead crinkle in confusion. "So much more," he said again, because it was.

"Uh huh," Cecil agreed, with a nod that made Carlos want to kiss him again.

And so he did.


End file.
